Tommy Hill is pictured on his 2010 Suzuki

The 2011 BSB series would be contested by only two former champions. Kiyonari had won the crown in 2006, 2007 and 2010, each time with the works-backed HM Plant Honda team. He had contested the world championship in between and won races at that level with Honda. The BSB title winner in both 2003 and 2008 had been Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne, each time racing with Ducati machinery. A former wildcard race winner in WSB, Byrne has spent the past two seasons in WSB full-time, with a best race result of second place. Both men have some MotoGP experience, and now Shakey joins the HM Plant team for the first time, as team-mate to ‘Kiyo’.

James Ellison has moved on, but other recent BSB contenders remain in the series, including race winners Josh Brookes, Tommy Hill, Stuart Easton, Michael Rutter and Michael Laverty. Of these, only long-term BSB man Rutter stays with the same team. Again partnered by Martin Jessopp, their Ducati outfit now has it major backing from Rapid Solicitors and Bathams. The pack has been shuffled where the other leading teams are concerned.

The Crescent Suzuki team has been backed by Worx for the last two seasons, and in 2010 they fielded title contender Hill and the less successful Yukio Kagayama. This year the main sponsor is Samsung, and their two new riders are John Hopkins and Jon Kirkham. Hopkins was for several years a works rider and podium finisher for Suzuki in MotoGP, and more recently has raced Superbikes in WSB and at home in the US. He has family from Britain, but races here for his first full season this year. Kirkham has had BSB rides over a number of years, but last season was the Superstock 1000 National champion with a Samsung-backed BMW.

Relentless Suzuki by TAS were race winners last season with both Michael Laverty and Alastair Seeley, and have now picked up title runner-up Brookes (from HM Plant Honda) as their main racer. At Brands he was to be joined by roads specialist Guy Martin, who also has some BSB experience. Two of the main men from 2010 would be paired together for the new season, with both Hill and Laverty joining the Swan Yamaha team - formerly Hydrex Honda and then Swan Honda. Their switch to Yamaha brought in ex-works WSB machinery from 2010, although without the same works engines. The Yamaha BSB teams in 2010 had not managed to be truly competitive.

Easton had been paired with Ellison at the Swan team, but now rejoins the MSS Colchester Kawasaki squad as they hope to emulate their podium threatening form of two years ago. Gary Mason stays in the team for a second season. Also on the ZX this year is experienced BSB rider and former WSB race winner Chris Walker, in the Primo Racing team. He is the eighth different former race winner in the series.

Motorpoint Yamaha continue to employ French racer Loris Baz, who joined them for the last three meetings in 2010 and looked pretty handy. His new partner is James Westmoreland, who raced a Yamaha to runner-up spot in British Supersport last season. The Buildbase team retain John Laverty, who put the Kawasaki in the top eight many times for them in 2010, and he is joined by a Superbike part-timer from last year, Ian Lowry (a top performer for the Relentless team in 2009) - but this time they run BMWs. Other continuing BSB regulars include Tommy Bridewell, Simon Andrews, Tom Tunstall, Steve Brogan, Peter Hickman and Aaron Zanotti.

Dan Linfoot’s second full season is with the Sorrymate.com Honda team, and the new season sees a return for Australian BSB veteran Glen Richards, joining the WFR Honda ‘Evo’ class team alongside Graeme Gowland and Alex Lowes. BSB 2011 also sees the first female racer in the history of the series, with former Supersport racer Jenny Tinmouth joining Splitlath Aprilia alongside Hudson Kennaugh.

The short Brands Hatch Indy circuit hosted round one, and in qualifying it was Honda in front, with an HM Plant one-two. Pole position went to Byrne, second to Kiyonari. The new Swan Yamahas provided the closest challenge, with Laverty third and Hill fourth. But the Motorpoint Yamaha of Baz was not disadvantaged, as he was fifth, from Rutter and Kirkham, the first men for Ducati and Suzuki respectively.

Tommy Bridewell was with the Tyco Honda team again, but had now inherited a 2010 bike from the HM Plant team. He would start eighth. Row three of the grid saw Westmoreland heading Easton, Hopkins and Linfoot, and row four saw Brookes heading Jessopp, Walker and Mason. Tinmouth would not get to race as parts for her RSV4 were still awaited.

Two of the front row starters had difficulties to contend with. Hill was competing with a hairline fracture to one of his elbows, and Kiyo suffered a crash in traffic during the race day warm-up session. However, neither showed any effects as the first four got away for their first outing in the same order, with a small gap to fast-starting Easton in fifth. Rutter, Hopkins and Baz followed the Scotsman, with Linfoot quick to take ninth from Westmoreland.

Initially, Easton seemed to be closing on the first four, but soon he was being left behind as Hopkins took over tracking him in sixth. Laverty took second from Kiyonari on lap two, and Hill was also past soon after. Byrne was challenged for the lead by Laverty at the long Clearways-Clark right-hand bend. Michael got on the inside, but then went wide and let the Honda man back through, and there was nearly a clash across the start-finish line as Shakey fought to stop the front jumping up.

Fourth man Kiyo soon went out of the race with an engine problem, and also not lasing long were Westmoreland, Gowland and Hopkins. James tried to recover from the grass after sliding to the outside at left-handed Graham Hill Bend; Graeme’s crash unfortunately resulted in a broken arm; and John visited the gravel through a mistake as he made to overtake Easton. The leaders were now Laverty, Byrne and Hill, then it was Easton, Rutter and Baz.

The leading group then changed radically when Laverty suffered a highside crash going round Clark Curve. Hill had to take avoiding action and chose the outside, and was almost caught up as well, going beyond the edge of the track but staying upright. In the confusion, Easton snuck past Byrne for the lead, with Baz up to third. It was necessary to put out the safety car after the accident.

The restart came at about half-distance, with Easton’s lead only lasting until the run in for the right-handed Druids Hill hairpin, where Byrne went through. Stuart tried to fight back on the way out of the corner, then got ahead again with a pass on the inside over the start-finish line. After starting only in P13, Brookes had moved up and been helped by the exit of four of the men who’d started ahead of him, plus the delay for Hill, and was now able to move past Rutter and Baz into third. Rutter had Kirkham behind him for company, with Bridewell in seventh.

It wasn’t long before Byrne resumed in the lead, passing Easton on the inside at Graham Hill Bend, and then Brookes also passed the Kawasaki man on the inside at McLaren bend, where the back section for the full GP circuit is bypassed. Unfortunately, Josh was destined to crash not long after that, when his Suzuki highsided at the bottom of the dip for the steep Paddock Hill Bend right-hander. This left Shakey with a comfortable lead, and Easton with a bit of a margin over Rutter, Baz, Lowes on the leading ‘Evo’ bike, Bridewell, Hill, Kirkham, Linfoot and Jessopp.

Hill was on the move with his rapid Yamaha, passing first Bridewell then Lowes. Tommy and Tommy then both went past Baz, who started to lose ground in sixth. Lowes fell behind as the likes of Linfoot, Jessopp, Walker and Richards homed in. Hill was back up to fourth when he re-passed Bridewell on the inside at Paddock Hill, and then he targeted Rutter, going ahead on the inside over the line. Bridewell soon passed Michael on the way into Druids.

By now Byrne was well clear, and Easton was about to lose out to Hill, who got him on the inside for Paddock Hill. Bridewell was fourth, with Rutter starting to lose touch, and about to be passed by Kirkham. At the finish, Bridewell had gone by Easton for his first BSB podium, with Kirkham heading Rutter, Baz, Linfoot, Jessopp and Walker, then Richards, Lowes, Hickman, Brogan, Andrews, Martin, Hopkins and Mason.

For race two, there were three non-starters: Brookes, John Laverty (who’d injured a finger) and Gowland; and in fact Martin did not quite make it to the grid on the Suzuki. The new grid was based on earlier fastest lap times, which saw Hill heading Michael Laverty, Byrne, Easton, Hopkins, Kiyonari and Kirkham (who also had to take to the pits at the last minute). Byrne made a good start and took the lead, from Hill, Laverty, Kiyonari, Easton and with a bit of a gap to Hopkins, Linfoot, Rutter, Mason and Bridewell.

Rutter soon passed Linfoot for seventh, but Hopkins tagged on behind the first five as they began to move clear. The Swan Yamaha duo took turns to set fastest lap and, with the HM Plant Honda pair, they left Easton and Hopkins to a private battle for fifth. Byrne and Hill were able to establish a small advantage over Laverty and Kiyonari, and then the lead changed as Tommy got through on Shane on the inside at the exit of Druids. By now Westmoreland had crashed his Yamaha.

Kiyo had a bit of a ‘moment’ at Paddock Hill Bend, but soon he had overtaken Laverty for third place. Then he had to haul in the gap to the two men ahead, but he was equal to the task. By now Hopkins had passed Easton for fifth on the inside at Paddock. Hill now led Byrne and Kiyonari, with Laverty on his own in fourth. At this stage Bridewell crashed out with his Honda.

The last couple of laps saw a tough battle for the victory. Byrne went to the inside of Hill at Paddock and got past, but in the event he ran wide and this let the Yamaha back through, and Kiyo also took advantage. Shakey continued in third, but just shy of the other pair now. Ryuichi spent the final lap looking for a gap to make a pass on Tommy, but the Englishman knew how to defend and there was never a gap for the Honda rider. The podium men therefore finished the race in the same order that they’d started the last lap.

There were no late race changes in the order of the next few finishers, with fourth man Laverty heading Hopkins, Easton, Rutter and Linfoot. Behind them were Hickman (Tyco Honda), Mason, Walker, Lowes, Baz, Richards, Jessopp and Brogan (Jentin Honda).

It was looking like the men to beat for 2011 were going to be the HM Plant Honda and Swan Yamaha teamsters, but Suzuki’s Hopkins and Brookes had also been on the pace after being further down in qualifying than expected. Another eventful BSB opener had seen four of the fast men come to grief in race one, and the same thing for race one podium man Tommy Bridewell in the second outing. Tommy Hill shaded Shane Byrne in the championship standings at the end of the day, but with consistent Stuart Easton (fourth and sixth) in third place, partly in the event of other riders’ misfortunes. Round two at Oulton Park was imminent.

Standings after two races: Hill 45; Byrne 41; Easton 23; Kiyonari 20; Rutter 19; Bridewell and Linfoot 16; M Laverty 13
Podium credits: Hill 5, Byrne 4, Kiyonari 2, Bridewell 1.

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